NACM Heartland Credit Blog

How often do you hear the word perfection in your day to day life? In what context and from what sources do you hear that word used? What type of thoughts or emotions does the word provoke? I know for me the word perfection can be both calming and alarming.

In car commercials, the word perfection is used to make you feel better about the sleek design and superior handling the advertiser’s vehicle offers. The word is soothing because it implies high performing, high quality.  But, is it?

What about when the word perfection is applied to your life or your job as a credit professional? Does it make you feel warm and fuzzy, or does it get you thinking about all the things you would like to improve or do better?  I know for me I don’t like the word perfection to be applied to my day to day tasks. Why, you ask? Because who among us is perfect in all we do?

The word perfection is defined this way: “the highest degree of proficiency, skill, or excellence.” Do you demand perfection out of yourself and your employees in every area of your job? The term “nobody’s perfect” is the first thing that comes to my mind. As in most things in life there is something to find inside every definition. In this case, look at the word “excellence.” Excellence is defined as “possessing outstanding quality or superior merit, remarkably good.” Doesn’t  “remarkably good” get you thinking a lot more positive thoughts than the word “perfection”? 

In the credit industry we all have high stress, number crunching, people pressing jobs.  We are pushed to apply the credit skills we have learned to everyday situations that are anything but cookie cutter.  Then we need to produce results that will eventually effect and (hopefully) increase the bottom dollar.  We are the ones that turn promises into dollar signs. We cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s in hopes that in the end we obtain payment for the product and or services our company has provided. I would define this as a less than “perfect” science, especially in a down economy. 

Now given what we have learned would you prefer to be perfect or excellent? What areas of your credit policy can you bring excellence to today? Do you have one or two nagging projects that have been pushed to the back shelf for weeks, months or even years that you could review? A revised credit application, an adjusted set of sales policies, whatever it is I encourage you to make some time in your schedule to address it. Bringing excellence to what you do is not easy but it will produce “remarkably good” results.

If the NACM Heartland staff can help you in any way with collections, credit policies or any of the other projects you are thinking of tackling we are just a phone call or email away.

Are you a credit manager with seemingly too much to accomplish in a 24-hour day, let alone a standard work shift? You are answering phones, making in-house visits to customers, tracking delinquent debtor lists, reviewing new credit applicants, considering software to help with the credit function. It all sounds exhausting, but busy is never an excuse for bad customer service.

Make Technology Your Friend

The busy credit professional, especially in a department of few, has to take care of its customers all of the time. This includes when on the road visiting other clients. Now the use of technology such as smartphones and tablets are an excellent way to check business correspondence from virtually anywhere. Skype allows a virtual conference call environment when face-to-face communication and its benefits are desired, but impossible. Also, look into in-house upgrades to systems such as electronic credit applications that can be reviewed on a laptop from anywhere with a WiFi connection. In short, the hotel room, the airport, even a rental car can be your fully functional office—so use them as such!

Don’t Forget the Basics

While technology can help a credit professional juggle, the entire operation falls apart without the proper organization, preparedness and focus. One of the most crucial basics is spending the time needed to build a solid report with the customer as well as doing all the homework at the beginning of the relationship. Though it can be hard to do amid other tasks, the upfront dedication can really reduce headaches down the road.

That good report also can mean customers tend to avoid going over the head of or around the credit department and straight to ownership. And, if there’s a decision to be made to pay collector A or collector B, you want to be the collector that has the better relationship with the debtor.

Play Well with Others

Do you get blamed by sales staffers who think credit department costs them sales? Is there a sometimes antagonistic relationship as a result? Too bad—make it work. When you’re a credit professional on an island, get all the help you can. Salespeople can be helpful in relaying information a credit manager can glean to decide if trouble with a customer is coming:

• Is there significantly less equipment in the yard?
• Is there one person or two people where you used to see 10 in the office?
• Do you see/sense more stress on the part of the owner or manager?

Also, tagging along with a sales person on one of their visits can be helpful because their visits carry the perception of less “high pressure” than that of a creditor coming to collect or find out what’s happening. It could just get you in the door quicker … and when the debtor’s guard is down.

Fix Inevitable Problems Immediately

Mistakes happen. Customers fall through the tracks. Once these occur, it is critical to make fixing their problem the first order of the day. And, remember sincerity counts. In addition, paying more attention to the wronged customer for a while is a helpful way to repair any damage done. After all, everyone, especially in business, wants to feel like they’re really important in your world. So do what’s necessary to convince them that they are after your credit department has dropped the ball. 

You’ve probably seen the image many times in our marketing material -- the burning candle which represents the value of a past due account.  As the candle burns, the wax melts and the candle becomes shorter and shorter.  As more time passes, the candle eventually melts away until there is nothing left.

So how does a credit department keep the flame of the candle burning without losing the wax?

For starters, there should be policies in place that are clearly written, understood and followed by everyone within the credit department.  It is important that everyone is on the same page so the message being sent to the customer is consistent.  How many times has a customer called in multiple times in a day or week and talked to different people each time?  If the customer is getting mixed messages, he or she will likely become confused and often times frustrated.  All the while, the wax is melting and the candle is getting shorter and shorter.

Once you have everyone up to speed on the company credit policy, it’s time to turn your attention to your customers.  Let me start with what might be some silly questions.  Does your company have Terms of Sale? Don’t feel bad if you don’t, we see it all the time.  Are these Terms of Sale in the hands of your customers each time a sale is completed or are they on a document hidden in a file cabinet somewhere?  How about a Credit Application?  The Terms of Sale should be incorporated into the Credit Application as well as the back of the invoices so there is no reason the customer does not know what is expected of them.

So you have your department on the same page and have communicated to your customers what is expected of them, yet the wax is melting away on some accounts.  If you don’t have communication from a customer after 90-120 days, it’s time to shift gears.  We are here for you (here comes the shameless plug!).  Instead of spending all your time on those few accounts that are giving you trouble, lean on NACM Heartland to help you out.  Let us do some of the heavy lifting for you.  Believe it or not, there are some companies out there who just know the game and play it very well.

As the game is being played, the wax is melting and value is lost.